Artificial Intelligence in the Heart of Nursing Practice

In the second episode of The AI Oncology Revolution, host Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, MSEd, FACP, sat down with Marissa Marti-Smith, DNP, ARPN, AGNP-C, AOCNP, an oncology nurse practitioner specializing in breast medical oncology at Texas Oncology. While AI is often discussed through the lens of physician tools, this episode highlighted the "heart of the practice"––the nursing and advanced practice provider (APP) teams––and how they are leading the charge in tech implementation.

Key highlights from the episode include:

• Marti-Smith sharing her 2-year experience with ambient AI (DeepScribe), allowing her to be fully present with patients rather than "tied to a computer," saving 1.5 to 2 hours of documentation time per week.
• Showcase of data from Texas Oncology revealing AI integration has reduced chart closure time to just 1.6 minutes, with seamless electronic health record uploads taking under 3 minutes.
• AI in assisting nurses during patient calls, providing real-time prompts and management recommendations for symptoms like headaches or treatment-related adverse effects.
• An exploration of the latest in AI-driven risk assessment, including newly NCCN-approved tools for assessing breast cancer risk in women age 35 and the emergence of platforms like Open Evidence and health-specific large language models.

Additionally, Loaiza-Bonilla discussed governance with AI and keeping a "Human in the Loop," diving into the Fair, Useful, and Reliable Models [FURM] framework for AI implementation:

• Fair: Ensuring equity of benefits across the practice.
• Useful: Reducing the burden of trial matching and care planning.
• Reliable: Providing local validation and contextual accuracy.

Both Loaiza-Bonilla and Marti-Smith emphasized the necessity of keeping a "human in the loop" to prevent clinical de-skilling and ensure that the "muscle memory" of medicine remains sharp. From patient education and consent to navigating the evolving legal landscape, this episode is a must-watch for clinicians looking to reduce burnout and reclaim the joy of patient-centered care.